The recent rise in Asian American hate crimes could have impacts beyond the pandemic
Chinatowns across the country and the world have faced the brunt of xenophobia, brought on in part by the coronavirus. (Annie Spratt/Unsplash/)“Go back to China.” These words, whether shouted in front of a busy Home Depot in broad daylight or at a restaurant with dozens of patrons, have reverberated throughout the US since news of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, reached Americans’ radar in early 2020.In the months following the outbreak, Asian Americans faced more than 2,100 incidents reported nationwide between March and June, according to nonprofit advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate. On April 5, a woman survived an acid attack while taking out the trash in Brooklyn, New York. On June 9, an attacker threw a glass bottle at a woman strapping her child into a car seat in San Francisco while yelling out a racial slur. Later that week, in Santa Clara, California, another assailant kicked a...